Blood and Blossoms
by BlackRose999
Summary: An abusive relationship forces Sakura out of the Leaf Village and into the arms of the former Kazekage of the Sand, Sabaku no Gaara, who has retired after a sudden burst of "Insanity" caused him to withdraw from any and all human contact. But the brightest lights have always accompanied the darkest shadows...
1. Chapter 1

_"Excuse me, Ms. Haruno. I know you asked not to be disturbed, but Lord Hokage would like to see you in his office immediately. He has a mission for you."_

Sakura raised her head from its perch on her arms, blearily looking around to try and remember where she was.

The sight of her office blinds reminded her of what had happened the previous night, of why she was here in the first she raised her head further up from its makeshift pillow, the muscles in her back screamed their abuse as she was reminded yet again of Saiiko's cruelties.

She whimpered and sighed when she felt the gentle tingle of her healing chakra enter her body, he had beaten the hell out of her last night after she had spurned his sexual advances. After the first few times he'd beaten her, she lost her sex drive when it came to him. She was loyal, faithful and sweet. But it wasn't enough for him, he always demanded to know who she was seeing behind his back.

For Sakura, cheating wasn't an option.

And for now, neither was leaving.

That had been one of the first things he'd addressed, if she left him, or even _thought_ of leaving him, he'd kill every single one of her friends until he found her. And then he'd kill her too. So she simply let him do as he pleased to her, she made herself numb and indifferent to the pain.

She learned to survive.

To cope with the abuse, she buried herself under mountains of paperwork. She slowly distanced herself from her friends, hoping to keep them safe from him. She slowly got up and tested her limbs, when she found them to be less painful than she expected she silently thanked the gods Saiiko had been drunk.

Sakura opened the center drawer of her desk and pulled out a bottle of pain pills, taking two she made a mental note to pick up more after she noticed the bottle was almost empty. She dropped it back into the drawer with the others and locked it with the silver key on her key ring, the key was adorned with an inlaid Leaf Village symbol in dark pink.

A gift from Kakashi for her twenty-first birthday, he had made it after the kids in the hospital started getting into her desk looking for the stash of sweets she kept hidden for the kids who were brave enough to get their shots done by themselves.

She walked down the hall toward the doors, her heels clicking on the linoleum. She was beautiful, when she wasn't covered in bruises. Her emerald green eyes contrasted perfectly with her long dark pink hair and creamy tanned skin, she had no blemishes or scars in sight. She bore dark eyeshadow to make her eyes stand out and pale pink lipstick, along with jet black eyeliner.

A form-fitting red dress clung to her hips and her chest, but it was her white Head Doctor's jacket that hid his marks. Sakura was the current Head Medic in Konoha, and a highly decorated ANBU Kunoichi. She was also the Ambassador of the Hidden Leaf Village, so when she got a mission, she knew it was something big.

Sakura walked up the steps toward Naruto's office, that's right, NARUTO's office. He'd become the Hokage after Tsunade had died, the entire Village had proclaimed him Hokage a week after her funeral.

When the mourning period had passed.

A brisk knock on the door was her only warning that she was there, before opening the door. Naruto looked at her, but he did not smile like he usually did. His expression was somber and strained, like he'd swallowed something sour.

"What happened?"

"I need your help Sakura... Our relationship with the Sand Village has gone south, ever since Gaara stepped down from the throne the new Kazekage has made trade relations incredibly difficult."

"Difficult how? What exactly does my mission entail?"

"You'll be in the Hidden Sand Village for six months, you are to convince Gaara to resume his title of Kazekage. I want you to do this by any means necessary, however, I want you to put your safety and well being first. If at any time, you think your life is in jeopardy, I want you to come back. You'll be taking two people with you, Shikamaru and Tenten."

"Why am I taking them with me? If my goal is to convince Gaara that he must resume command of the Sand Village, wouldn't that be something ideally done with discretion?"

Naruto sighed and ran his hand through his cropped hair, his hesitancy made Sakura narrow her eyes at him.

"Naruto? What aren't you telling me?"

He buried his face in his hands, a low groan emanating from him. "You know... Sometimes Sakura-chan you're too damn smart for your own good.."

" _Naruto_."

"Oh alright alright... Shikamaru is on his last strike, and Tenten won't do anything since Neji's death. They need to get out of the Village, get some fresh air and do something with their lives. I can't just sit by and watch them waste their lives away.."

Sakura felt her heart break, they were her friends even if they rarely spoke.

"Sakura please.. Please take them with you.."

Sakura thought for a moment, she knew that when Saiiko found out she was leaving, even for a mission, he'd be furious. But the three of them needed this, they needed to escape.

She sighed softly, then met his pleading aquamarine eyes with her own vivid emerald orbs. "When do we leave?"

He grinned and thanked her profusely. Though he knew nothing of the extent of her boyfriend's anger issues, he knew that by taking this mission, she was risking something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"You leave tomorrow night, you _must_ be on your way to the Sand Village by eight. I told the current Kazekage that you three were heading over there to help train his people in Combat, Medical Ninjutsu, and Tacticians. I owe you big time for this Sakura-Chan! Go ahead and go, I'll tell the other two about the mission ok? I'll see you when you get back!"

Two hours later, said kunoichi hesitantly walked into her house.

It was late, and by the gods she hoped he was passed out. She didn't want to put on the fake smiles and laughs while silently gauging his moods, calculating the odds of her getting beaten within an inch of her life again.

"You know what time it is? You should've been home _hours_ ago, so where have you been?"

Her heart stopped, his words were not slurred. His pitch wasn't uneven, which meant that he was completely, dangerously sober. She immediately began to apologize, hoping to quell any brewing rage he might have.

"I-I'm sorry Saiiko-kun, I was called into Hokage-sama's office for a mission-" A shrill cry rose from her as he backhanded her into the door, the handle slamming into the myriad of bruises on her hip from yesterday's beating.

"Did I tell you you can go on any missions? Who's going to make me dinner? Who's going to take care of the house? You can't leave me Sakura. I thought I made this clear yesterday, but no. It looks like I have to reiterate it again."

He wasn't yelling, or looking at her cruelly.

It was his voice, that made her shake. That made her whimper in fear.

Saiiko had a way of speaking that made anyone unlucky enough to be the object of his displeasure, tremble in fear. He spoke civilly, politely even. But his tone always held a certain degree of hatred, an unspoken promise of pain that would be inflicted at even the slightest hint of displeasure. At the moment he spoke to her as if she were a child being scolded for breaking their father's favourite plate, but underneath that was a hidden note of growing rage.

"Why do you _insist_ on disobeying me Sakura? Do you think I _enjoy_ hurting you? Do you think I like blackening those pretty jade eyes, that you always hide so well with makeup?"

Sakura was bent on the floor against the doorframe, clutching her sides as waves of pain danced up her spine and reverberated in her bones.

"Well? _DO you?_ "

A vicious kick was sent into her stomach, before he grabbed onto the dark pink hair he claimed to love so much, and yanked her up toward him. He crushed his lips to hers as her face twisted in pain, then he smiled and forced her to look into his eyes.

"You're _mine_ little girl, I can do with you what I please. Do you understand me sweeting?"

Tears dripped down her face as she whimpered in agreement, willing to say anything if he would just _let her go._

"I think you're lying, I think you need proof.."

He released her hair and dragged her down the hall by her arm to their bedroom, shoving her into the bedpost. The night dragged on with the occasional whimpers and and moans of her pain and his pleasure, and when he left the next morning, Sakura laid there and cried.

Slowly she got up from the bed, forcing herself to look in the mirror and face the wreckage he'd wrought unto her skin. Bruises spiraled up her hips and unto her ribcage, red marks and scratches from his nails and slaps covered her thighs and her a small portion of her face.

It was odd, he always avoided coloring her face too much. He knew she barely used concealer, so her suddenly wearing it all the time would make others suspicious.

' _Look at yourself Sakura... look at what he's done to you girl. How long are you going to sit by and let this happen? How long are you going to let him hurt you? Until you can no longer move? Until you can't walk, and are confined to a wheelchair for the rest of your life? Or maybe, you're waiting till he finally kills you. You're already a walking corpse, why not make it official?'_

Silent tears slipped down her cheek, her inner self was right. She no longer looked like the Sakura she once knew, she looked healthy yes. But her eyes were no longer bright and alive.

They were dull and void of all emotion but sadness, she looked hollow, broken.

She spent what little time she had left packing and sending all her luggage ahead of her, like most ninja do when they go somewhere for long periods.

But unlike them she wouldn't be coming back.

She quickly showered and sent her chakra to her face, putting up a small henge to make herself look normal when she realized makeup wasn't going to cover the marks this time. Seven thirty rolled around, and after writing a brief note, she hurried through the back alleyways to the gates.

She didn't want him to know she was gone until she was too far away for him to catch her, too far for him to force her home.

The other two were waiting for her, dressed in their ANBU uniforms like they were told.

"You ready? Good, then let's go. If we wait any longer we'll be behind schedule..."

The duo nodded and they set out, sticking to the treetops to avoid detection. They were well past the Leaf Village's border when Saiiko arrived home and discovered her note, and proceeded to completely trash the house looking for her. Her note was fed to the flames after he reluctantly cleaned up his mess, her elegant and rushed script disappearing as the fiery tongues lashed at the ink.

 _"You will never touch me again._

 _By the time you read this I will be gone, far from the Leaf Village and far from you._

 _You will NEVER, touch me again._

 _~ Sakura_ "

He completely disagreed.


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura was a woman of many things, but it appeared that patience was not one of them. For the fifth time in the last two hours, they have stopped so Shikamaru could smoke. Normally this wouldn't have bothered her so much if they weren't under a strict time schedule, and she wasn't trying to get away from the murderous asshole who was likely on her tail.

"Are you _quite_ finished? We have a Timeframe to adhere to."

The only male in their party fixed her with an annoyed stare, he slowly took another drag of the nearly-done cigarette whilst staring at her, as if daring her to make a move against him. Well, she'd had more than enough of men trying to assert their dominance over her. She marched straight up to him and plucked the cigarette from his lips and crushed it in her hand, glaring at him.

"I will _not_ allow you to make us late for our assignment. You can smoke when we reach our checkpoint, until then, we will not be stopping for _anything_. So i suggest you use this as a chance to empty your bladder or drink some water, once we get moving, _we will not stop_. Am I clear?"

"Sakura relax. I get we have a schedule but come on, it's not like we're gonna blow the mission if we're a bit late…"

"No _you_ come on, this mission isn't about Suna or diplomacy, this is about saving _all_ our hides!"

Sakura levels Shikamaru with her most intimidating glare, and is immediately gratified to see him look uncomfortable. She points toward Tenten, who for the last few minutes has been staring off into space clutching Neji's headband instead of keeping an eye on their surroundings for any signs of unfriendly ninja.

"Tenten absolutely _refuses_ to participate in missions anymore, and while under normal circumstances that would be understandable, it's been almost _three years_ since the war! The longer she buries herself in her grief the more unstable she could become until, god forbid, she ends up trying to off herself!"

Shikamaru had the grace to flinch, while he was not particularly close to her the thought of someone he'd known since the Academy committing suicide make his stomach lurch.

And that was all she needed to pounce.

"And _you_ are no better! You haven't been the same since the incident with the kids in Kirigakure, what happened to Choji wasn't your fault Shikamaru! His family made that _very_ clear at the eulogy when they publicly thanked you for risking the mission to get him to safety, if it wasn't for you they wouldn't have gotten to say goodbye. You've been in the hospital _twenty six_ times in the last six months, and the last one was the final straw. You don't sleep, you barely eat, and you struck the one person who tried so hard to help you through your pain hard enough to fracture her jawbone in three places! You're half a centimeter away from being placed in Konoha Mental Institution for the rest of your life and branded a danger to society! You-"

" _ENOUGH!"_

Sakura yelped as Shikamaru shoved her backwards into the tree trunk behind her, terrified and unfocused green eyes stared at the looming figure of the man quickly advancing on her. However she didn't see Shikamaru, she saw only what her body and her mind had been conditioned to see and hear. Instead of her friend, she saw her abuser. Tears started to well up in her eyes, how was he here? She'd been so careful, she had gotten away from him hadn't she? Her vision sharpened suddenly, and instead of the hate-filled grey eyes of Saiiko she was met with the angry brown eyes of a friend. Shikamaru knelt in front of her, the action quickly making her realize that she's sunken low to the ground like she did with Saiiko, a sign of her submission.

"Don't think I don't know about you Sakura. Don't think I haven't seen them, that I haven't heard the sounds that come out of your house when he drinks… don't think for one fucking second that you have _**any**_ room to talk when you let that sick fuck you call a boyfriend treat you like his personal punching bag. I may not look it, but I pay attention to a hell of a lot that goes around me."

Tears dripped down her face, but instead of them being caused from fear and pain, these were made of nothing but anger. She felt herself heat up as the rage burned through her, scorching its way to the surface as she erupted.

"You _**knew**_!? You knew what he had done, what he was forcing me to do, and you did _nothing_? _What the fuck is your_ _ **problem**_?!"

" _My_ problem? What the fuck is yours? You're an Ambassador to the Hidden Leaf, a highly decorated Kunoichi and a fucking _Sannin_! What's the deal? Do you _enjoy_ being treated like shit or something?"

Sakura feverently shook her head, feeling herself shrink against the tree.

" _You don't understand!_ I couldn't say no to him! He threatened to kill _everyone,_ everyone I'd ever loved or cared about! I couldn't just sit there and _let him kill people be_ _ **cause of ME**_!"

Shikamaru stared at the sobbing Kunoichi in front of him, a woman he had once greatly admired for her strength and optimistically cheerful personality. The inner turmoil however, was a harsh reality. This woman had been utterly destroyed by a man who had claimed to love her with every fiber of his being, she'd been brutalized and tortured for years under the noses of those who also claimed to love her. _She_ hadn't failed to tell them the truth, _they_ had failed to see it themselves. All at once the memories of her over the years came flooding forward, the changes of her personality and the sudden distances from her friends. It shouldn't have been so easy to overlook them, to overlook _her_.

He looked away, shame and bile rising in his throat. He left her there to pick herself back up, fearing to say something that would set her off further. Within an hour she wiped her eyes and nodded at him, indicating that it was time to move forward. His attempts to apologise went ignored, she was the one who'd pushed him after all, and eventually the two of them began talking. Since Tenten didn't seem in any way interested in talking to either of them, Shikamaru began to tell her about what had happened after she'd began distancing herself from others in an attempt to protect both them and herself.

It took them three days to reach Sunagakure, and in those three days Sakura had learned alot about what had happened to her comrades after the war. Shikamaru had been ready to marry Temari, but when Choji died on an S-class mission, he'd closed himself up into his house and refused to come out. Temari was patient with him, she understood his grief and let him have his space. She constantly dropped by and gave him food, cleaned up around the house, and kissed his cheek before leaving.

Shikamaru did little to acknowledge her presence, or anyone else's for that matter, but one day when she went to kiss him goodbye and head for the door, she heard him whisper softly "Stay..." She merely smiled and sat beside him quietly, listening to him tell her broken bits of what had happened to Choji. After that he'd broken down and told her what he'd done to Ino, how he had punched her when she physically tried to get him to come out to the garden with her, she'd hoped the sun and the fresh air would wake him up a bit.

And he had repayed that thoughtfulness with a suckerpunch to her jaw and overly-harsh words, she'd stopped visiting regularly after that, and when she did she usually brought Sai with her in case things got violent again. Temari had the good sense to refrain from remarking on that, but when she left him that day she immediately went to Ino's to check on her.

For a lazy-assed genius he had one hell of a right hook...

After that she'd gone to tell Naruto that he was slowly, but surely, coming out of his rut. That when he was well enough to go outside, he was to try and send him on a mission. Get his mind off Choji in any way he could. And if all else fails, send him to Suna. She'd take care of him until he was ready to go back to the Leaf Village, at least then she'd be ready for the transition too.

As for Tenten, her story was worse. Before Neji had died, she had confided in him that she was carrying his child, a secret she had told no one but him. After he had perished, she went into a great state of depression and due to the intense amount of stress she was under, the baby also died. She was forced to deliver the infant as it was, otherwise she'd get sick as well. As it turns out, the bundle wrapped in silk she'd laid in his casket was the baby they never got to have. So everyday she'd visit the husband and child she was denied, no wonder she refused to leave them.

For the most part people left her alone, the grieving process was something that nobody wanted to interfere with, and now that she knew the whole truth Sakura very easily understood why Tenten was still grieving for the two lost loves of her life. The loss of a husband was one thing, but no parent should have to bury their child.

The rest of the journey was spent in silence, talking only occured when it was required. When they finally reached the gates of Sunagakure, Temari and Kankuro were waiting for them. Temari went straight for Shikamaru, asking if he was alright and offering soft words of comfort for him. Kankuro however beckoned Sakura over, his expression serious.

"I know why your here Sakura, both of us do. We're the ones who requested you. Gaara.. He.. Well he's gotten worse over the years, we're beginning to wonder if perhaps... He's insane."

"What do you mean insane?"

He looked down and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Well... We know he was a Jinjuriki, but lately he's been talking to himself. Having full-blown arguments with someone who isn't there... If we try to talk to him he just glares at us and ignores us.. He needs help."

She nodded slightly, "I can't promise you anything but... where does he normally reside during the day?"

Kankuro and Temari both beamed, the two of them looked like kids at Christmas.

"In the oasis, a good mile to the north of here. He set up a camp there and hasn't left since.."

Sakura sighed and nodded towards the other two, who made their way over to them.

"We'll get set up in the hotel and then we can go about our mission, I assume you've been debriefed?"

"No. Naruto only told us we were to go with you on your mission, he didn't tell us why."

Irritation flashed through her, that was the last time she trusted him to do _anything_ regarding her missions.

" _'Go ahead and go, I'll tell the other two about the mission!'_ What the hell was I thinking? Of course he'd forget! The man would forget his own clothes if he wasn't reminded constantly by poor Hinata... Alright, I'll give you the short version. We were sent here to try and patch up the relationship between Suna and the Hidden Leaf, since Gaara stepped down the new Kazekage has made trade relations incredibly difficult and to be blunt we're sick of it. However that's not the only reason why we're here… But that part is classified and I've been told to keep my mouth shut about it. Shika-kun, your in charge of training the new War Advisors on strategitics and tactics. Tenten, your teaching Advanced Weaponry and Summoning Skills.. I'm in charge of their medics, I'm teaching them advanced chakra control and teaching them how to heal Major Arteries and Spinal injuries, along with developing and identifying poisons."

"How long are we here for?"

"Six months."

" _SIX MONTHS!?_ "

"Oh come on guys it's not that bad. It'll be over before you know it!"

"Sakura that's not fair! You should've said something! I packed for a week or two at most!"

Temari sighed and shook her head, sending him a half-glare before her lips widened into a mischievous smirk.

"Trust you of all people to be concerned with the amount of clothes you have… Well I guess that means you need to go clothes shopping."

"NO, no i do not. Woman I REFUSE to go shopping with you. Last time, we went in for curtains and we came out with six different outfits for you... CURTAINS Temari!"

"Oh quit your nagging Shikamaru, your just jealous there was nothing in your size."

"I AM NOT!"

Sakura laughed and motioned for Kankuro to lead the way to their hotel, they had been given suites. Both of the girls had at least, Shikamaru had turned it down and - unsurprisingly - opted to stay with Temari. Kankuro had shown Sakura her room first, then lead Tenten down the hall toward hers. As they were turning the corner she thought for the most briefest of instances, that she saw the corner of Tenten's mouth lift in the shadow of a smile. Suddenly she had tunnel vision, she could see them as a couple, very easily in fact. As quickly as it was there, it was gone and so was her smile.

Oh well, one thing at a time.

For now her greatest concern was Gaara, this sudden bout of "insanity" was highly worrisome; and if what his siblings had told her was true, then it hit him unexpectedly and _very_ quickly. She wasn't sure if this was related to him being the host of the One-Tail for so long, but it wasn't something to rule out just yet. Another thought was the possibility of a hidden illness, perhaps the violence was a side effect from whatever it is was wrong with him.

Well one thing was for sure, tomorrow she'd find out first hand just how violent he'd become.

* * *

 ** _Hey guys!_**

 ** _Sorry for the long haitus, but I'm going to try to update EVERY story as often as I can. My poor readers have been left with cliffhangers for waaaay to long!_**

 ** _Sorry for the long wait, but I'll try to make the updates more frequent for you guys!_**

 ** _As Always,_**

 ** _BlackRose999_**


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